Jennifer Barrett and Karri Pitsavas from L.E. Phillips Career Development Center Chippewa Outreach Office received the “2024 Community Impact Basic Needs Award” from United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley at the Chippewa Valley Spirit Awards Banquet on April 4, 2024. Jennifer and Karri were honored to receive the award for their continuous commitment to make sure Chippewa Valley residents have access to food, shelter and medical services in their time of need. As Jennifer stated “We have worked hard over the last 5 years to get our name out there and to help our community. It’s been a long road, and some days are really tough, but this show of appreciation has me full of gratitude!!
                               Congratulations Jennifer and Karri!!

The month of April was a great one for The Community-Based class. We spent a couple of days in class working on our resumes and playing Kahoot with a twist! During those class periods, we had a guest speaker, Nate from UW-Stout. Nate helped us with our resumes and answered our job-related questions. We also had a couple of exciting tours at Kwik Trip in Altoona and Kohl’s. Both were very informative and helped us learn more about searching for jobs. The highlight of our month was a tour of Costco. Costco is relatively new to the Chippewa Valley and the community-based class finally got our taste of it. It was a phenomenal tour showing us the ins and outs of why Costco is successful. The General Manager and the assistant GM answered all of our questions with great detail. Our class had a very productive month, and it is shown in the classroom as we continue to grow and learn.

A huge Thank you goes out to the Eau Claire Fire Department for assisting us with our annual fire drill on April 18, 2024. We are happy to announce that we received positive feedback. The facility was fully evacuated in less than 2 1/2 minutes and our Equipment meets and exceeds all the required safety standards.

At the April Board meeting, Dawn Yarrington from Clifton, Larson & Allen presented Gregg with a check in the amount of $15,000 for the purchase of a new RICOMA printer. A RICOM printer is a combination printer that allows Direct to Garment (DTG) or Direct to Film (DTF) printing. It allows more flexibility in terms of the number of colors utilized and is more efficient for small orders. The DTF component allows us to produce transfer images to use in house as well as to sell to customers. The RICOMA printer is user friendly, requiring less manual labor, and less physically demanding for our staff. It will be a positive addition to the Print Shop Thank you Clifton, Larson & Allen, your support is greatly appreciated!!!

Nearly 900 Athletes competed at the 2024 Spring Games State Tournament at UW Oshkosh the weekend of April 12-14. The spring competition includes 3 on 3 Basketball, Team Basketball, Basketball Skills and Swimming. Three of our own competed at this year's State Games, Kent Kohlhepp and Nate Stygar in Team Basketball and Sara Fellenz in Basketball skills. Not only did they compete, but they also got to enjoy a number of events throughout the weekend including a flashback gear for the 90s themed Victory Dance on Saturday.

The competition for Basketball skills (dribbling, shooting and throwing) began Friday evening after the opening ceremony. Sara, who has been competing in the Basketball skills for the past few years, finally took home the Gold!! Way to go Sara!! Sara stated that she had a great time and enjoyed “meeting new people, watching all the other players, and being away from home”.

Approximately 50 teams competed in a round robin tournament play in the Team Basketball competition on Saturday and Sunday. Kent Kohlhepp and the Eau Claire Wolverines coached by Keri and Christopher, lost their first game to the Dream Team with a score of 16-8, but went on to win their next two games against the Tigers 32-30 and the Crusaders 32-11, winning the Silver in their Division!! Awesome job Kent and the Wolverines!! This is the first time to state for Kent with this team and he stated that he had “a good time!”

Nate Stygar and his team the Bucks coached by Roger and Barry, played some tough competition against the Barron County Yukons, Bobcats, and the Green Giants. The Bucks also won two games and lost one winning the Silver in their Division!! Way to go Nate and the Bucks!! Nate who has participated at the State games twice prior, stated that “the tournament was fun, but the competition was hard!”

Several area residents spent an evening of fun and dance at the Eau Claire Parks and Recreation Par-Te-Rec annual Winter Prom on Thursday, April 24th. Sarah Rindal, Linda Sorenson, Donny Archer, John Faust, Sara Fellenz, and Jake Janssen were a few that attended and enjoyed the “groovy” themed prom. The evening was very special for Sara Fellenz for she received the honor of being Prom Queen!! Congratulations Sara!
                                      “What a groovy evening it was!!”

An Autistic Guy with a Special Creative Dream 
An Autobiography by Carter Lage

There once was a guy named Carter Lage, he is an autistic guy, and he has a dream. He wants to become a Children’s Author and Illustrator like his idol, who is the creator of the Arthur books and television show, Marc Brown. He grew up watching his favorite show and reading books when he was a kid, and he also likes writing and drawing when he was a kid. He wants to create a book series that is like a homage to Arthur, because the characters in Arthur have fun times and sometimes problem solving, so Carter wants to make a book series about a monkey named after him, as characters would do the same things Arthur and his friends did, but at age 13. Some of Carter’s friends and family members would say things like, “You can’t be plagiarizing Marc Brown’s ideas”. “You can’t have characters be named after a lot of people you know, but just a fair amount”. “Hopefully, you know what you are doing when you get your books self-published.” or “I know you’ll eventually become a children’s author and illustrator”. Even Marc Brown would tell him to believe in yourself, because that's the place to start. Well for all the things Carter wants to do, he’s going to try to do what he really likes to do. He wrote his manuscript and made illustrations for his first children’s book, now he’s got to get it self-published. He would say to himself, “There’s life in you that your gotta get through”. Who knows? His first book and special creative dream job might become successful and special. That’s the story about Carter Lage and his special creative dream job to become a children’s author and illustrator.

Congratulations Ryan!

Forklift Experience 101

Wisconsin Special Olympics Spring Season 

Easter Fun

This month we celebrated safety week and were excited to start the year with safety on the mind! Our staff and clients alike displayed their safety knowledge by completing a “circle the safety hazard” worksheet. We also encouraged all staff and clients to share why they work safely at CDC through their drawing and writing skills. Some popular responses were “to go home safe to my family” and “working safe helps me get better at my job”. It was fun hearing all of these responses and it was a good reminder to us all that we have many reasons to work safely. We wrapped up the week by asking our staff and clients to sign a poster that says “I ‘m Committed to Safety at the L.E. Phillips Career Development Center”. By signing this poster and hanging it in the hallway for all to see, our employees can be continuously reminded of their dedication to keeping their workplace happy and healthy!

Community Based Prevocational Skills Class 
Our class had the privilege of having Natasha Giacomino come teach our class. She shared about her position as a Job Developer/ Employment Specialist. Natasha talked about the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and how it is a funding source that helps people get jobs in the community. Natasha said that in order to work with her, someone would need to go through DVR. She works with consumers before and after their job. Natasha also talked about how important hygiene is: showering regularly, putting on deodorant, putting on clean clothes, ect. She talked about the importance of sharing your skills at a job interview, not your interests. Meaning that you wouldn’t show up to a job interview wearing a sweatshirt with a sports team on it. Natasha explained appropriate conversations at work and that is it important to talk with co-workers at work. Natasha did a great job talking about the importance of turning your weakness into goals. So instead of stating at an interview that you are disorganized, you can talk about what you have done to help yourself become more organized; that you are learning to be more organized and have been putting effort into organizing.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
This year’s Valentine’s Day was celebrated with staff receiving a Valentine’s card and a box of Brach’s Tiny Conversation Hearts and a free lunch of spaghetti with garlic bread and dessert. Other activities for the day included a scavenger hunt, crafting a heart puppy, and pictures.

WISCONSIN SPECIAL OLYMPICS 
CDC is fortunate to have three staff members, Kent Kohlhepp, Sara Fellenz and Nate Stygar participate in the Wisconsin Special Olympics Spring Season either on a basketball team or by demonstrating amazing basketball skills. On Sundary, February 18th the Regional 3 District Team Basketball and Skills Tournament was held at UWEC Stout Johnson Field House.

Kent Kohlhepp who plays on the Eau Claire Wolverines basketball team took First place!! His team won their first game with a score of 36 to 8 and won their second game with a score of 50 to 13. The Wolverines will move on to the Northern Sectional Tournament on Sunday, March 17 at UW                                 Stevens Point. Congratulations Kent and the EC Wolverines!

Sara Fellenz took first place in the skills competition which includes, Basketball drills, dribbling drills, catching drills, passing drills, shooting drills, rebounding drills, offensive and defense skills. Sara will be showing off her skills again by competing at the State Spring Games at UW Oshkosh on April 12.
Way to go Sara!
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Nate Stygar who plays on the Eau Claire Bucks basketball team took 2nd place at the Regional 3 District Team Basketball and Skills Tournament! The Bucks lost a close one in their first game, 21 to 25. But won the second game 25 to 17. Nate’s team will also be competing at the Northern Sectional Tournament in Stevens Point. Great Job Nate and the Bucks!
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COMMUNITY BASED PREVOCATIONAL SKILLS CLASS
In our Community Based Class on February 20, we started our class by reviewing what we have been learning over the last couple of weeks. We also did it in a fun game called Kahoot! Donnie A. was the winner of our game, but it was very close and came down to the last question. The second part of our class included a tour of Saver’s in Eau Claire. We learned all about the production area in a behind-the-scenes tour. The tour was informative and our clients left with a possible opportunity.

Community Based Prevocational Skills Class
​January was a busy month for our community-based Prevocational Skills Class. The Class got to tour Festival Foods, Chippewa Valley Outreach Center, Chippewa Valley Airport and Menomonie Market Food Co-op.

FESTIVAL FOODS
At Festival, they talked about how important their work culture is and how they focus on being a positive environment for both customers and employees. On the tour we were told there is a 10-step rule for employees; if a customer is within 10 steps of you, you need to say “hi”. Human Resources and one of the store managers gave us a tour throughout the store and took us to each department. There are 14 departments, so therefore 14 department leads. Some of the client’s favorite departments were the meat and seafood departments and the bakery. We learned that they keep their meat for 7 days and then throw it out.
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CHIPPEWA VALLEY OUTREACH CENTER 
Our class had the opportunity to volunteer at the Chippewa Valley Outreach Center in Chippewa Falls. Our class mopped the floors and sorted donated clothing and talked about how they like being able to help the organization. Overall, clients stated how they would like to go back.
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CHIPPEWA VALLEY AIRPORT
The Chippewa Valley Airport did a wonderful job giving us a tour. Dave Nelson, a Transportation Security Officer, is one of the people who gave our class a tour. He took us through security and gave explanations of how they run the security in the airport. One of the class’s favorite parts of the tour was learning about the restaurant in the airport and how they are hiring.

MENOMONIE MARKET FOOD CO-OP
The Menomonie Market Food Co-op was also very generous in giving us a great in-depth tour of their new store location. The class enjoyed walking through the aisles and learning about locally sourced food. They also enjoyed the new event space and asked many questions about potential employment.

A Special thank you goes to Representative Derrick Van Orden and Senator Jeff Smith for taking time out of their busy schedule to visit CDC to meet the staff and take a tour. Both Rep Van Orden and Senator Smith were impressed with all we do and how beneficial we were to the community. Staff was excited to have the opportunity to meet with our local representatives. Thank you for making our day!

Representative Derrick Van Order visited on January 25th 

Senator Jeff Smith Visited on January 26th 

We had a visit from the Easter Bunny, along with treats and a great lunch! 

​Our woodshop has been busy making benches and plant stands.  They are available to purchase as well as will personalize them.  Please contact Andy in the woodshop at  715-834-2771 ext 120 or [email protected] to discuss prices or ideas.  These would make great gifts! 

Our talented artists, Nancy and Josh, dressed up the cafeteria for St. Patrick's Day 

Everyone's name was up on the wall in the hallway, as we are all good luck!

It's time to get ready for the golf outing.  If you have not signed up for a sponsorship there is still time.  Not ready to sponsor?  What better way to get your name out there then to donate for the silent auction or the golf pull?  Please call 715-834-2771 and ask for either Bonnie or Connie and we would love to assist you! 

The more tickets you purchase the better your odds are at being the big winner.  Please contact Connie/Bonnie at 715-834-2771 to purchase your tickets.   If you are open to selling tickets we would appreciate the help also.

​We celebrated Valentine’s Day with appreciating our friendships that we have here and having an extra treat. 

Our local talent, Nancy and Josh, decorated our cafeteria with their art work, we cannot wait to see their work for next month.  Thank you for sharing with us! 

Chippewa Outreach continues to be working on the Hygiene Drive, check out the Outreach site on our website for more details.  Here is our very own Karri from the Outreach Center and some of the things they have received. 
https://www.lecdc.org/chippewa-county-outreach.html

Thanks to the talent of our own Wood shop supervisor, Andy, we have a new counter in the kitchen.  Check out this detail!  He did an outstanding job!   Thank you Andy!  

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Rock the Riverfront featuring the Charity Classic is sponsored by RCU.  This year we have been chosen as one of the non-profits that are highlighted.  This even will be held on Saturday June 24, 2023.
Proceeds from the event will go to:

• LE Phillips Career Development Center
• Junior Achievement of Wisconsin Northwest Area
• Workforce Resource, Inc.

All three will benefit, but you get to choose the BIG WINNER!  You get one free vote with race registration and additional votes can be purchased to help the charity win the BIG PRIZE.  Check out their website at: 

​We ended January with the same way we started it, with paint and art.  We have our art that we worked on for Prestige Art in December.  What a great way to walk into our building and be welcomed. 

Christmas  2022
Our Christmas tree is up and looks beautiful.  Thank you  to the Kiwanis Club of Eau Claire and Lowes Creek Tree Farm for the tree.  Eddie, Tonya and Robert did a great job decorating it.  Thank you also to Connie Werlein for donating the lights.  

Thanks to the Kiwanis of Eau Claire and the Eau Claire Memorial Key Club our Christmas gifts were wrapped in no time! 

​The theme of this year's gifts is letting people know we care about them from their head to their toes.

We would like to thank Presto for their generous gift of the fire extinguisher. The Krabby Patties gummy candy was donated to us by Choice Transportation/Clubs Choice Fundraising and attached to the candy cane is taped to an Avon flavored lip balm that Avon Rep Tina Wolfgram sold to us at her discounted amount.
Everyone was given a CDC hat, a microwavable heating pad with washable cover (made here at CDC), socks, a travel blanket and a wonderful bag along with their water bottle. 

This month we participated in the Prestige Auto Corporation in Eau Claire Prestige of Art & Community to showcase local talent while benefitting Chippewa Valley non-profits.  We had five artists from CDC participate. While we were not the winner, we did have a good time and enjoyed showing off our skills